Decorating Ideas for Dorm Rooms and Must Have Items

For a new student, the dorm life can be a lot of fun. It can also be pretty cramped. However, with smart decorating ideas you can maximize your dorm space and inject some personality. You can also set a budget and challenge yourself on finding the most affordable and functional appliances or furniture you can get. You can set a Home Depot challenge for yourself and try to be smart as much as possible to spend within your budget .

A Loft Bed

The easiest way to increase your space is by converting your dorm bed into a loft bed. Before you begin, check the bulletin boards in dorms, student unions and other community centers on campus. Then purchase sliding plastic tubs to store clothing and other goodies underneath.

Shelving

If your college allows it, decorate your walls with shelving for your CD’s, books, DVD’s and more. To save even more space put all of your CD’s on an MP3 player, then leave them with your folks. Instead of collecting books, hit up a local book store and trade them in as you go. Or use your local library.

TV Mount

Another decorating idea for saving space is to mount your television (if allowed). Or forego the television altogether. After all, you’ll be plenty busy with homework.

Filing Cabinet

A well-decorated, locked, small filing cabinet is another functional decorating idea. Use it to organize your homework and other important information.

Mini Fridge

The mini fridge is a dorm room must-have if you want to save money and your waistline.

Compact Microwave

A small microwave goes hand in hand with the mini fridge and should be able to sit on top, saving you some space.

Hanging Organizers

Another space saving decorating idea is to use hanging organizers for all of your lightweight gear. Store energy bars, clothing, toiletries and more in a hanging organizer in your closet.

Portable Bathroom Caddy

If the bathroom is down the hall from your dorm room, a portable bathroom caddy is an absolute must have.

Silk Flowers

A great decorating idea for those too busy to take care of the real thing is fake flowers. Fill a vase with silk flowers to spruce up your desk. Or use them in a hanging plant to save even more space.

Borders

If you can’t paint your dorm room, or your roommate doesn’t want you to, another decorating idea is to use borders along the top or bottom that can be easily removed, without leaving a trace.

Another idea for saving space is to opt for a laptop versus a desktop computer.

Comment below about the experience. Happy smart shopping!

What You Can Do to Keep Rats from Coming into Your House

Those creaks and moans that an old house makes may not be ghosts or goblins. When the wind blows and it squeals and shrills, sending shivers up your spine bringing goose bumps to a rise, is it only the wind?

Those bumps and thumps within the walls of a new house as it makes itself comfortable and begins to settle down while the banging on the pipes isn’t playing out a song, is there nothing going on?

Think again. There may be something going on but it’s probably not supernatural. It may be that you have Rats. When rats get into the walls of a house you don’t always hear them. They could be living in the walls, the attic, the basement, around the water heater, under the floors for month’s even years without you knowing it except for an occasional creak, moan, squeal, shrill, bump, thump or a banging.

There are signs of rats that you can look for. In places that isn’t frequented you may have disturbed spider webs, small footprints where it’s dusty, rat droppings, gravel, small to large holes in floorboards, and crawl spaces. Anything stored a rat can gnaw through. Wiring may be chewed on and may be chewed in two. When wiring is chewed in two it can cause fires and it can cause things inside the house to stop working such as lighting. Insulation can be bitten and eaten on and dragged to other areas for rat nests.

Rats can eventually find their way into the house.

If you have rats and are waiting on an exterminator or pest control person to come and take care of the rat invasion you can do a few things to ensure they won’t come into your house or to dissuade them from entering.

If you have pets you’ll want to be cautious that they don’t inhale any fumes. Keep pets out of the room or area you are working in and make sure the room the pets are in has ventilation to allow any fumes that may spill over into their area a way to escape.

Rats don’t like to smell bleach. Water down bleach or use cleaners with bleach in it and wipe down floors, do not wipe down carpets, wipe down sinks, toilets, stoves, refrigerators and windowsills. Basically clean as you normally would. Make sure bleach is diluted enough with the water that it won’t take the color out of anything. The bleach smell will eventually fade but it will keep rats away temporarily for several days or until the smell is gone.

Vinegar seems to effect rats too. If you don’t have any bleach, squirt some vinegar around but be aware that vinegar can hurt the color of things. Vinegar can also make things sticky if too much is sprayed. You may wish to dilute it with water.